Canadian Supreme Court Backs Same-Sex Marriage

Plus: Another religion clash in Egypt, a Baylor bump, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Compiled by Ted Olsen| December 1, 2004

Canada's Supreme Court gives approval for same-sex marriage
"Several centuries ago it would have been understood that marriage should be available only to opposite-sex couples," the Supreme Court of Canada ruled this morning. "The recognition of same-sex marriage in several Canadian jurisdictions as well as two European countries belies the assertion that the same is true today."

Canada's federal government may therefore change the legal definition of marriage in that country, the court said.

Those opposed to same-sex marriage are heartened that the Supreme Court did not rule that Parliament must change the definition of marriage. Many such groups in the U.S. have argued that the chief issue in this country's marriage debate has less to do with sexual ethics than with judicial overrides of the democratic process.

"The Court has clearly indicated that any changes to marriage must be made by Parliament and not through the courts," Focus on the Family Canada president Terence Rolston said in a press release. "Surely the Court would have ruled differently if traditional marriage was an attack on someone's basic human rights."

Religious groups may also be happy to see the court's extensive reiteration that "officials of religious groups [can] refuse to perform marriages that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs." Watch the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's website for response on this point.

But though the blow may have been softened, some Christian leaders are still troubled by the decision.

"It's a sad day for our country," Gordon Young, pastor of the First Assembly of God Church in St. John's, Newfoundland, ...

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Launched in 1999, Christianity Today’s Weblog was not just one of the first religion-oriented weblogs, but one of the first published by a media organization. (Hence its rather bland title.) Mostly compiled by then-online editor Ted Olsen, Weblog rounded up religion news and opinion pieces from publications around the world. As Christianity Today’s website grew, it launched other blogs. Olsen took on management responsibilities, and the Weblog feature as such was mothballed. But CT’s efforts to round up important news and opinion from around the web continues, especially on our Gleanings feature.

Ted Olsen is Christianity Today's managing editor for news and online journalism. He wrote the magazine's Weblog—a collection of news and opinion articles from mainstream news sources around the world—from 1999 to 2006. In 2004, the magazine launched Weblog in Print, which looks for unexpected connections and trends in articles appearing in the mainstream press. The column was later renamed "Tidings" and ran until 2007.